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Bipartisan House Group may try to Seize the Lead on Immigration

An old saying goes victory has 100 fathers but defeat is an orphan. So one of the better indications that something is likely to succeed in Washington is how many members of Congress are rushing to claim paternity of a proposal.

That is why this report by The Hill that a bipartisan group of House member is working to potentially be the first group with an actually piece of immigration reform legislation is an encouraging sign. From The Hill:

A bipartisan group of House negotiators is even further along in drafting a comprehensive immigration overhaul than its counterpart in the Senate, but the path to passage in the lower chamber is lined with thorns. [...]

That group, sources say, is trying to release a draft bill directly before or after President Obama’s State of the Union address on Feb. 12. Releasing an actual legislative text would put the House group out in front of the coalition of eight Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, who issued only a five-page framework of principles on Jan. 28.

Yet how fast that legislation would move through the lower chamber remains an equally important question.

You normally don’t have multiple groups of legislators competing to be the first to put forward a major piece of legislation unless there is the widely held perception that something is likely to pass.

It seems the question is not if something called “immigration reform” will be approved this year but what will reform actually look like. Anyone who wants a role in shaping the legislation knows they need to get their oar in the water soon.